Repaying A Debt
by Mullach21
Summary: Zuko, during a diplomatic trip to the Western Earth Kingdom, decides to take a detour to a village to repay an old debt that happened early in the show. During the detour Zuko and Suki find themselves bonding, alone together, in Zuko's carriage. This was originally a one-shot, but has morphed into a full series.


Zuko stretched his back and legs as stepped out of the meeting hall in Omashu and shielded his eyes from the beating sun in the sky. He just spent 3 to 4 hours discussing new deals and how to heal old wounds between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation with King Bumi and others, and his head was hurting.

"The longer I spend away from that insane old man the better," Zuko whispered to himself as Bumi came out the same door, munching on some jennamite and doing his signature cackle. Zuko was thankful that the meeting hall was so close to the entrance, he wouldn't of been able to handle the full descent. Zuko reached the bottom and saw his convoy waiting for him. The Kyoshi Warriors, his personal bodyguards, were standing around making small talk with the many citizens who were curious why there were Fire Nation carriages in Omashu. Many fell silent as the Fire Lord strode past them.

"Zuzu!" came a shout to his left, and as he turned Kiyi rushed into him and hugged him. He scooped her up into his arms, laughing as his mother and Suki walked towards him.

"How did the meeting go, any new developments?" Ursa asked, smiling at the pair. Zuko waved away the question.

"If I have to talk any more about politics I'm going to going to start breathing smoke," He said with a small smile. "Other than finalising the trade routes nothing of interest." Zuko and Ursa talked a bit more as they made their way towards the family carriage, where Zuko saw Noren having a nap, he envied that man. After handing Kiyi to Ursa as they climbed into the carriage he followed Suki to a small table with a map of the Earth Kingdom.

"Ty Lee stop that!" Suki commanded as they watched Ty Lee doing a handstand on a chair, balanced on it's back legs. Her green kimono was close to folding down. Much to the dismay of the many young men who had been cheering on the acrobat, she tipped back and landed on her feet.

"Sorry everyone, I'll show more tricks when I return," Ty Lee promised as she gave a playful shrug and sat down at the table with Zuko and Suki, who both looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Thank you," Suki said. "Now we can finally get back onto the road. We're currently in Omashu," placing her finger on the city and began to trace along a path south. "We'll be travelling down, keeping to the edge of the desert and then cutting through the Foggy Swamp until we arrive on the main road to Gaoling. You'll be attending a party at the Beifong estate, followed by a meeting." She glanced up at Zuko as he leaned back in his chair, rubbed his eyes and let out a groan.

"They always ask so much about Toph, and a meeting after the party means I'll barely get to enjoy myself," Zuko complained as his dropped his hands to the table. Suki gave a small laugh at the exasperated Fire Lord.

"We're ahead of schedule, if we make good time you'll be able to get the meeting done first," Suki told him.

"Then you can really _enjoy_ yourself, especially with all the pretty Earth Kingdom girls that'll be there," Ty Lee added, a big smile on her face. Suik covered her mouth to stop the laugh as a blush spread its way across Zuko's face. Zuko was about to protest, when a smaller map, a more detailed one of the area around Omashu and Gaoling. He scanned it, finding the small village he was looking for just North-West of Omashu.

"Suki, how long would it take to travel here," Zuko muttered. Suki looked at where Zuko was pointing.

"About half the day or so, is everything okay?" Suki said, looking into his golden eyes.

"I'm... yes, I just have some business I need to take care of there, old war stuff," He explained, breaking eye contact with the Kyoshi warrior. Zuko stood, putting a smile on his face. "Come on, the quicker we do this, the quicker we'll be in Gaoling." Ty Lee strolled and cartwheeled her way on top of one of the larger carriages, while Suki jogged to catch up to Zuko, who handed a bag of money to one of his servants.

"Zuko, even with the added time, we'll be cutting it pretty close," She said as she came up next to him. Zuko turned to her as he went to climb into the family carriage.

"If we are a small bit late, what does it really matter, I'm the Fire Lord." He gave her a more genuine smile as he sat down next to Kiyi, who wanted to show him some new game she needed him for. Suki climbed onto her ostrich horse and gave the signal for the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors to do the same, and rode in front of the convoy as they made their way out of Omashu.

 _Five hours later_

"Ha I win again!" Kiyi celebrated as she grabbed the four copper pieces on the small table and returned the stone with the Fire emblem to the others on her seat. Zuko, sat cross-legged on the floor across from her had his mouth open.

"I don't know how, but I'm certain you're cheating," Zuko said, raising his eyebrow at the young girl. He pulled out 4 more copper pieces and he put the Air emblem stone between his legs with the others. "Double or nothing, best out of five!" Ursa and Noren chuckled at the two of them.

"Be careful Zuko, you've tried that already, and lost 3-0 each time," Ursa warned him, giving Kiyi a light pat on the back.

"You might as well just give me the pieces now Zuzu," Kiyi jeered, sticking her tongue out at her brother. Zuko was about to retort when the carriage shook and there was a yell of alarm.

"Stay here!" Zuko ordered as he jumped out onto the road. He stood with his right arm out straight, palm facing out and his left arm up by the side of his head, ready to unleash hell on any man foolish to attack his family. His eyes saw a large dust cloud at the side of the road ahead of him begin to disappear. Two Kyoshi Warriors stood looking down into a ditch. He relaxed and ran over to them. "What happened?"

"Not sure, but I think Suki and her ostrich horse fell down there," one of the warriors replied. Zuko stepped onto the slope and began to slowly slide down.

"Get my personal carriage to pull up close to here and have the door open," Zuko told them as he set foot on even ground. "Suki, are you alright!?"

"Over here, need a bit of help." He heard her voice call out and slid down another small drop, into the treeline. He found Suki, with her leg trapped under her ostrich horse. "Oh thank god, help push this thing off me," Suki told him through clenched teeth. Zuko grabbed the saddle and pulled back while Suki pushed with her free leg. It rolled off her and Zuko helped her to her feet. She wrapped her arm around him and hobbled up the small dip.

"Think you'll be able to manage up the rest?" Zuko asked as he felt her tighten her grip on him and she took a step on her bad leg. She gave a small gasp and went back to balancing on one leg. Before she could respond, she felt Zuko's arm slip behind her legs and scooped her up bridal style. Carefully, he climbed up the hill. "What the hell happened?"

"The road gave way, these roads haven't exactly been kept up to standard," She said as she shifted in his grip to get more comfortable.

"I'll talk to Bumi and have him send out a couple Earthbenders to fix this," He told her, which got a small laugh from her. Zuko reached the top and walked towards his personal carriage, as the two Kyoshi Warriors ran over to them.

"Suki are-" one of them began.

"I'm fine Maiko, can you and Ami take care of the ostrich horse down there, from the sounds it was making I'm guessing it's down for the count," Suki cut them off. The two of them nodded and as they went to slide down, one of them began to slide their katana out of it's scabbard. Zuko sat Suki down in the corner of his carriage and pulled out a small folding table from the wall for her to rest her foot on.

"Let's get this stuff off. How does it feel?" Zuko said as he pushed the green clothing up leg and carefully eased her boot and sock off.

"It's a pretty sore, thank Agni I didn't break it," Suki answered, which got a curious look from Zuko. He could see the foot was already beginning to swell up.

"Ty Lee!" Zuko shouted as he leaned out the window. He saw her stick her own head out of a carriage a bit back in the convoy. "Can you grab me a cold cloth for Suki?"

"No problem, be right over," she called to him as she ducked back through the window. He gave the order for the convoy to continue moving. He bent down beside her again and began to apply pressure at different points on her foot.

"Thank Agni? Maybe this trip to the Earth Kingdom is good for you," Zuko joked as moved down her foot. "Tell me where the pain is most intense." Zuko pressed just underneath her ankle, which caused her to sit up and gasp again. "I won't do that again. It's probably just a sprain, a few weeks of rest and you'll be fine." Zuko turned as Ty Lee swung from the top of his carriage and through the window, holding the wet cloth out in front of her with a big smile. "Thank you Ty Lee," Zuko said, taking the cloth and beginning to wrap it around Suki's ankle.

"Suki!" Ty Lee said, alarmed as she looked at her friend. "You're make-up is all messed up, let me fix you up." Ty Lee sat next to Suki and pulled out a small case from inside her kimono. Once again Zuko and Suki shared an eye roll as Ty Lee touched up her make-up. "Alright, all better. I gotta get back to my post," She told them, as she hopped back onto the top of the carriage and hopped and flipped to her own one.

"Would you like some tea?" Zuko asked as he stood up and open a drawer, pulling out a small pot and two cups. Suki gave a little nod and Zuko used his firebreath to heat the pot. Zuko sat down next to Suki, handed her a cup and the two sat in silence for few minutes. Zuko noticed Suki was smiling, looking out into the trees.

"I missed this," Suki mumbled, breaking Zuko's concentration. "Don't get me wrong, the Fire Nation has some beautiful scenery, but you guys don't have many forests like this, they're just so... peaceful."

"Yeah, peaceful isn't exactly something the Fire Nation has going for it," he replied.

Suki looked back at Zuko, who was staring into his tea sullenly.

"I didn't mean it like that," Suki explained, placing her hand on his shoulder. "The Fire Nation is so lively, there always seems to be some sort of celebration or play on, and that's amazing. The Earth Kingdom on the other hand, is huge. There's a lot of times when you're travelling that you can just relax and take in everything." Zuko nodded, not entirely convinced.

"Fire Lord Zuko, we're coming into the village now sir," the driver called to him. Zuko and Suki looked out as the forest turned to fields and pastures, with stone buildings coming into view.

"So are you going to explain why we've come here?" Suki said to him, raising her eyebrow at him. Zuko became visibly uncomfortable and his hand went to his scar.

"Back when uncle and I were travelling to Ba Sing Se after Azula nearly took us prisoner, uncle made tea out the White Jade bush." Suki eyes widened. "Yeah the deadly poison one, he thought it was the White Dragon bush." Zuko and Suki both laughed at that. Zuko continued the story, until he got to the end. "I told uncle that they were going to show us some more hospitality, and rode off with their ostrich horse." Zuko let the last bit trail off, his face back to the common distant look he normally had. "I just want to try and make up for what I did." He felt Suki pull him into a tight hug.

"The fact you're here shows that you want to make things right, just like you always want to," Suki said, releasing Zuko and smiling warmly at him. Zuko could feel a blush begin to spread across his face.

"Fire Lord, we've arrived at the village's hospital, but it seems to be closed," the driver told him. Zuko was relieved to have a reason to turn away from Suki.

"Alright, continue down the path, turn left and stop at... the 4th house on the right," Zuko directed. "Ami, will you ride back along the convoy and bring those two empty ostrich horses up here, thank you." Zuko took note of the amount of people staring at him and his convoy. The amount of men was significantly higher in the village than last time. Some of the men recognised the Fire Lord when he personally saw the ships off that returned them to the Earth Kingdom from the Fire Nation. He avoided their eyes, while the war was over, many still harboured strong feelings against the Fire Nation. The carriage came to a stop, and Zuko opened the door to step out.

"Zuko..." He turned back to Kyoshi Warrior, who had grabbed his arm. She smiled at him and gave his arm a small squeeze. He gave a slight smile back at her and turned to Ami, who handed him the reins to the two ostrich horses. Suki watched him as he opened the gate and walked towards the doors. Zuko glanced at the empty pole he had originally stolen the ostrich horse from. He tied the two he had hold of onto the pole, stepped onto the porch. He lightly knocked on the door and waited. He could only remember a single time being this nervous, when he first approached the Avatar and his friends at the Western Air Temple. A few moments later a short pretty woman, with her brown hair tied back opened the door and stopped dead when she saw the red Fire Nation clothing. Her eyes snapped to the young man's scar on the side of his face.

"Lee?" She gasped as she looked into his golden eyes. Her face suddenly hardened as she grabbed a poster by the door she had kept ever since she saw it. "Or should I call you Zuko!?" She held the old wanted poster of him and Iroh out to him.

"Hi Song... Zuko is fine," Zuko said as he bowed to her. He found his mouth dry, all the things he wanted to say left his mind. "I... I came back to apologise for-"

"For stealing our ostrich horse!?" the short girl suddenly shouted at him, drawing all the eyes of the Kyoshi Warriors, his family and others in earshot. "I help you and your uncle, I invite you both to my house where my mother feeds you. I then share something personal in hopes of actually sympathising with you, and you betray our- my trust!" Zuko stared at the ground as she shouted at him. He eventually met her eyes when she finished.

"I know it doesn't mean much to you, but from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry Song," Zuko said, his voice steady and no longer unsure. "I've done many things in my life that I regret, there isn't many that rival, in my mind, what I did to you and your mother that night. It might not repair what I did, but I brought you two new ostrich horses. I hope you can forgive me, but I understand if you do not." Song glanced to the post, then to the armoured warrior hobbling up besides Zuko. "Suki, you shouldn't-"

"Shut it. I'm Suki, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and personal bodyguard of Fire Lord Zuko," she said, bowing to Song, whose features had softened, and using Zuko as support.

"My name is Song. It's a pleasure to meet you," replied the young woman, returning the bow, raising her eyebrow at Zuko when Suki called him Fire Lord.

"You may not take much faith in what Zuko said to you, but on my word, as a Kyoshi warrior, I can assure you that he is truthful in what he says to you." Zuko looked at Suki, his eyes wide and thankful. Song looked at the two of them, a slight smile coming to her lips.

"I sorry I shouted at you Zuko, I suppose I just needed to get it out. It's not like me to hold a grudge and when I saw the wanted poster with your real name, I simply couldn't believe it. I do hope the ostrich horse at least helped you in your journey with you uncle," Song began, causing Zuko to turn back to her. "I guess the fact you're even here shows you're trying, and I accept your apology." Zuko could see the same kindness that was always in her eyes as she stepped up to him and hugged him. "I'm happy to see that you have someone who cares for you as well." Suki was glad of the touch up by Ty Lee now, as it hid the her blush.

"Thank you Song, you don't understand how much it mean to me to hear you say that. Yes, it was a huge help. I guessing your parents are out, will you give my message to them when they return?" Zuko asked as they broke their hug, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"My mother is out and I'll happily tell her that you dropped by, my father... never returned when the war ended," Song mumbled, tears appearing in her eyes. Zuko pulled her back into the hug, while Suki put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry to hear that, my deepest condolences," Zuko told her, thinking about the amount of times he had to say that to people of the different nations. Song gently push herself out of the hug.

"Thanks, it hasn't changed much honestly, my mother and I are used to it being just us. It's just having to accept that he isn't coming back is... difficult," she said, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her hanbok, her kind smile appearing back on her face. She took notice of the long line of carriages on the path. "I would invite you all to dinner, but I'm not sure we would have enough, even with the amount of duck my mother cooks," She said, flashing a smile at Zuko. "Plus, I wouldn't want my new ostrich horses to disappear the next morning." Zuko let out a small chuckle at her jab.

"Low blow, but we would have to deny either way, we must be in Gaoling soon. If you are ever in Ba Sing Se, be sure to visit the Jasmine Dragon, my uncle owns it, and would be more than happy to see you himself. It was lovely seeing you Song," Zuko said, bowing to her, Suki doing the same.

"Same to both of you. I hope I'll see you again someday _Fire Lord_ Zuko," Song replied, returning their bow. Zuko and Suki began to walk out of the garden as Song closed the door most of the way. She watched, just like last time, Zuko stop and turn towards the ostrich horses. He walked over and placed a scroll and a small bag into one of the saddle bags. She smiled warmly as she saw Zuko help Suki into the carriage, climb in beside her, and gently slid the door closed.

"Are you okay?" Suki asked as she watched Zuko run his hands through his hair and let out a deep breath. He glanced at her and gave a small nod. He looked out the window, watching the men and women go about their daily business as they rode past.

"When I first came through here, it was much quieter. Now that the war is over it's so different," Zuko commented as he looked around the town. "It's crazy to think how much can change in a few years."

"You say that like you're surprise," Suki said, shifting slightly closer to him. "If anyone is a testament to that statement, it's you Zuko." Zuko stiffened as he felt Suki's fingers lightly touch his scar. "You've changed more than any person in the world. From what you came from to what you've done, even what you just did here is proof of that."

"Yet I still started a war with the Earth Kingdom over Yu Dao. If it wasn't for the Avatar we'd probably still be at each other's throats," Zuko stated, still looking out the window.

"That was a very difficult situation with no real answer Zuko, of course there would be conflict with those who saw themselves as Fire Nation yet had ties to where they grew up." Suki placed her hand fully onto Zuko's scarred side, while with her other hand turned his head towards her by his chin and looked him in the eye. "You can't blame yourself for that. You only did what you thought was best for your people at the time, as a Fire Lord should. No one said it was going to be easy Zuko, but you have people who you can talk to, Iroh of course, Aang and your advisers." Zuko found himself smiling as he stared into the blue eyes of the Kyoshi warrior.

"You're forgetting someone in that list... you," Zuko said as he placed his hand over her's on his cheek. Suki's eyes widened a bit in surprise at his words, unable to look away from his pure golden eyes. They held this position for a couple seconds.

 _Kiss her you idiot!_ The voice in Zuko's head hissed at him. He stood up suddenly, his face turning a deep shade of red. He scratched the back of his head to hide his blush and turned towards the door.

"I... I should get back to Kiyi, she'll want to keep taking my money," Zuko said, stuttering a bit as he stepped out of the moving carriage. Suki's breath returned to her as he left, and tried to take her mind off of what just happened by listening to the sounds of the forest. Zuko climbed back into the family carriage and sat crossed legged on the floor in front of Kiyi.

"She's nice," Ursa commented. Zuko's head shot up and looked at her questioningly. "Your bodyguard, Suki," She expanded. The blush began to rise on Zuko's face again as he dropped his head. Ursa smirked as she watched her son.

"Yeah... she is," he muttered, as he messed with element stones.

"She's so pretty," Kiyi added in. "Zuzu could you get her to do my make-up like her's?"

"Yeah, I'll ask her when we get to Gaoling," Zuko said as he picked up the Fire stone. Kiyi saw her mother make a strong fist with her hand and picked up the Earth stone.

"Thanks Zuzu," Kiyi said as she opened her hand and Zuko's hand slammed into his forehead.

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed this little story. This was always something that I felt should have been in the show. It was one of the things that Zuko needed to do. I decided to go from the comics and expand on the relationship between Zuko and Suki, which is an odd but kinda cute couple in my opinion. I hope I managed to keep the characters somewhat in character. Suki in the comics is strangely very passionate about Zuko, expressing clear worry about him when nearly all the other characters simply think he's gone bad. Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinion in this, so leave a review if you have the time.

Important: A sequel to this story has been written. Check the Gaoling Party on my profile if you would like to read it.

Avatar:The Last Airbender belongs to Viacom and was created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dimartino


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